Disaster response needs more collaboration

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Natural and man-made disasters require closer integration between federal and local authorities, according to the commander of U.S. Northern Command.

Gen. Victor Renuart, commander of NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said at a recent conference that while progress has been made on disaster response since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina, federal and state emergency response authorities can do more to strengthen collaboration, the Air Force reported.

Renuart said communities should work on disaster preparedness at the local level and integrate emergency response plans with regional and state actors in collaboration with federal authorities.

"The more a community is involved in planning for crises ... the less demand there is for federal support, be that military or federal agencies," Renuart said in a statement.

"But we also have to be prepared," he said, "because there will be a time when the size of the event is so big (and) happens so quickly that you have to have an integrated team of local and state and federal responders, both from the military and from our civilian first responders."